


Right Here Waiting: Untold Story of Smosh's Favourite Bromance

by stormguard798



Category: Smosh
Genre: Adultery, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Regret, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 16:35:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14241405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormguard798/pseuds/stormguard798
Summary: Ian Hecox and David Moss have always been Smosh's most popular bromance, constantly up to their antics on camera, with the rest of the Smosh Crew never failing to comment on them. Off camera, they are two very good friends, maintaining the same type of chemistry that they display on video. But as time goes on, they begin to discover that their feelings for each other could possibly extend to something a little more than friendship: Follow Ian and David as they work their way through the ups and downs of everyday life, and discover what they truly mean to each other.





	1. Board Game Night

2022: 

Ian sat down on the soft sand next to David, wrapping his right arm around him as he did so. They were at the Santa Monica beach in the evening, unblemished after all these years, and remained one of their favourite spots to just chill after a long week's worth of work. They had first met over 10 years ago, and even though they were undeniably different, they've developed some kind of bizarre friendship, and off "I'm so sorry, but they ran out of vanilla...hey bro, what's eating at you? You've seemed down all day. Are you all right?"

David picked a handful of sand and stared at it as the sand slowly trickled through his fingers. "I just can't help thinking how quickly time has moved on. I can still remember the day we first met like it was just yesterday, and so much has changed since then. Mari, Joven, Sohinki have all gotten married, I've had three kids, everything is just moving all so quickly." He glanced across the ripping water to the slowly fading light. "I just wish we all took more time to just think about where we are now, to live in the moment and not worry about what will happen next." 

Ian paused for a moment, and then smiled. "That's why we do this, bro. We're just like all people, and we need a break just like everyone else. This is why I love hanging out here so much, cause this is our slice of the world that no one else can touch. This is where we go to chill, where I can stop being the slapstick funny guy, where you can stop being the gamer dude, and just be plain old Ian and David." He leaned in closer to David, and patted him on the back. "We all carry some weight or burden on our shoulders. Just know that you can always talk to me about it if you need to."

David placed his head on Ian's shoulder. "I'm so grateful to have a friend like you, the literal and metaphorical shoulder for me to lean on. Whenever I'm feeling as if it's all too much, you always know exactly what to say." He felt Ian's cheeks grow hot against him. "Stop flattering me! I'm just doing what any good friend will do."

"Well, then you're a good friend. A very good friend indeed." 

...

2017: 

"Are you on for board game night tonight?" Ian asked as he swept up the latest Game Bang post-punishment mess. "Also, remind me to inform Sunny and Matt to have slightly less explosive punishments on this show. It seems like they always have to leave early after filming these videos." 

"What can I say?", came the muffled sound of David as he fumbled with storing all the camera equipment. "I take great pleasure in pummelling everyone in the games, and then pummelling everyone in the punishments afterwards. I do agree that it is quite annoying that we are the only people left after filmimg, though. " He folded up the tripods and stored them gently next to the camera. "And yeah, for sure. Remind me though, after spending a whole day playing games, why do we spend evenings doing the exact same thing?" 

"It's because we have ladies in our lives, who are clearly concerned about our lives, and believe that we should not spend all our time in front of the screen, even if we don't want to. What can I say? I love my gal, and I want her to be happy." He emptied his broompan into the dustbin, and then placed it back into the closet. "Also, Pam apparently has a new game that she really wants to try out, so...get ready for some surprises?" 

"Yeah, sure, whatever. You guys have corn dogs, right?" "When do we not?" "Good point."

...

Later that night: 

"Ding, dong!" "Oh, it must be Dave and Sabrina. I'll go get it." Ian excused himself from the bowl of M&Ms, and walked down the corridor to open the door to the smiles of David and Sabrina. He felt a quick pang seeing David arm wrapped around Sabrina's waist, but quickly dismissed it. 

"We left Tyler home tonight with the babysitter; he tends to get easily bored with these long board games. Plus, we didn't really want him around this bottle of wine that we brought," David said with a grin and chuckle. 

"Fair enough", Ian replied with a smile. "Joven, Kate, Mari, Peter, Olivia and James are all already here. Snacks are in the kitchen, but we're just about to start." 

Suddenly, Pam popped up next to Ian, and said, "Yeah, come on! I was just about to explain the rules." She led David and Sabrina down the hallway into the dining room as she began explaining the game "So, tonight, we will be playing a Guess-Who kind of game where one person will be the judge and ask a question, everyone else will write down their answer to that question, and the judge will try to guess who wrote what." 

"So...just like Adult Loaded Questions that we played on Game Bang." 

"No...yes...well...kind of. All the questions will be kept perfectly G." 

"Everything is at least PG-13 when I'm around," Dave declared as he swung past the banister. 

Sabrina responded with a hearty laugh, "That's the Dave I know: he's never going to be able to keep that goofiness off anywhere. Just this week, he decided to play Call of Duty in front of our son. Of course it's perfectly fine to expose a two year old to blood and gore, just like any responsible parent would."

"Hey! I can be as serious as I want." Dave replied, sticking out his tongue. Ian chuckled. David can be so ridiculous sometimes. 

As Dave and Sabrina entered the dining room, the group responded with a cheery "Hi!". Pam clapped her hands and announced, "So now that everyone's here, let's just get started, shall we? And yes, you can keep stuffing your face with snacks while we play this as long as you don't get crumbs all over the cards. And yes, I made those fruit tarts myself: I've been practicing a little in the kitchen." A gentle smattering of applause. 

"So anyway, I'll just start. Here we go, nice opening card: What is the best quality about someone in this room, and who has it?" A scribbling of pencils. 

...

"So, Lasercorn, if you didn't say Sabrina had the best quality, who did you put down?" Olivia enquired. "I mean, she is your wife. I think someone might be sleeping on the couch tonight!", she declared, to a chorus of laughter. 

"Oh. Yeah. That...was probably the smart play. I actually wrote down smile, Ian. I mean, no one can deny that the entire room lights up whenever he smiles." David said sheepishly. 

"That's funny, because I wrote Lasercorn, Energy. I mean, if you had any more energy, you'd practically light up. You have such an infectious attitude that no one could even hope to rival you," Ian responded, slightly startled. They glanced quizically at each other for a moment, and then turned away. 

"Oh wow. The Iancorn ship strikes yet again", giggled Mari. "I didn't know the love had already extended to telepathy." A chorus of laughter rose from around the table as both Ian's and David's faces flushed slightly pink. 

... 

"Good night guys! Hope you've all had a great time!" Ian called out to the guests as they left. "I'm going to go get ready to sleep now, Pam," he said as he climbed up the stairs while texting. 

"Hey L-Corn, tonight's game got a little bit weird, didn't it", Ian typed, to an almost instantaneous reply, "Yh. Who knew we knew each other so well? Hey. We are really good friends after all: makes total sense." 

Ian placed his phone onto the counter. They were really good friends. There was no denying that. But in that moment, he felt that he could have gone on, poured out every wonderful quality that made David the incredible person that he is. He felt that for the brief sliver of time, there was something more than just friendship. He switched off the lamp and turned to embrace Pam. 

...

David flipped over his phone yet again. Still no reply for Ian. That's normal: he probably just went to sleep after reading it. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Then what was this empty feeling?


	2. Game Bang

"Seriously!? Again!? Haven't we already done more than enough of these stupid dance games!? I swear, the only reason that we keep doing these games is because everyone loves seeing me epically fail!" Lasercorn grumbled as he flung a pillow at a wall. "It's not my fault that I was born with two left feet; although to be fair, no one can beat these magic fingers when it comes to working the game console..." 

Ian covered his mouth as he let out a slight chuckle; he could never tell if Lasercorn kept saying bizarre comments on purpose, or was just naturally so amusing. "Hey, at least if we both do terribly, maybe you'll be dancing with me yet again. Wouldn't that Iancorn reunion be wonderful?" Ian said as he did a gentle leap across the floor. 

"No. That would be the worst." 

...

"So guys, welcome to another episode of Game Bang, and joining us today are Ian and Anthony! Today, we will be playing Just Dance 2017, where the losers will have to participate in a sexy, steamy, romantic partner dance." Chorus of Oos from the rest of the crew. "And hopefully, it won't be me again." Joshua announced. "Since he was being a complete weenie backstage before we started for fear of embarrassing himself, let's, clearly, start with Lasercorn!"

David let out a very drawn-out audible sigh. "Fine, lets' just get this over with...what song is this...oh dear." He attempted to show the slip of paper to the camera, but just ended up dropping it. "It's Umbrella by Rihanna." The rest of the crew let out hoots and shouts. 

"Why is she holding a stick in her hand?", David called back to the rest of the group as the dance moves began flashing across the screen. "It's an umbrella, you fool; that's why it's the title of the song!" "Oh. Right." David began squatting up and down while using his right hand to twirl around an imaginary umbrella, and these above-head lassos just turned into awkward fist-pumping; attempts to swerve his body back and forth, just made him look as if he was repeatedly head-banging. He had placed his hands behind his head in order to pose, but ended up flapping his arms like a chicken. 

"Dude, the new Ultimate Chicken Horse is next week! Save your sick dance moves for then!" Anthony laughed as he bent forward, mock choking with laughter. 

"Shut up! Let's see you try to do this!" David called back with a contorted expression on his face. "This is really hard!", he whined. "Oh no...", David grimaced as he began drawing up his hands in front of himself while squatting, as if climbing something. "Hey mom, look at me, I'm a climbing stripper now!" to a fresh chorus of laughter. 

And once, when he tried to draw up one of his legs, he stood as one-legged flamingo for a brief moment before keeling over to the side, causing everyone to erupt into a cacophany of laughter. He looked absolutely ridiculous, childish, immature, and yet...There was something undeniably sexy about his movement, no matter how rigid. A shiver ran down Ian's spine. 

After what David felt like was a million years but was in reality 4 minutes, the song finally stopped. Ending with what was meant to be a striking finishing pose with his back facing but head turned towards to the camera, David just collapsed into a pile on the floor, breathing very heavily. "Never again...just never again," he said, panting. "I'm not fit enough for this." 

...

"So I will be doing...", Ian mumbled as he fiddled through the hat, "...Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Wait, seriously, who picked all these stupid songs?" 

"I did; now hop to it," called Sunny from behind the cameras. 

"If these are the songs we are doing for the initial rounds, what on earth is the song that the losers have to do?" 

"Well, why don't you lose and find out?" Sunny gave a mock evil grin behind the camera. "I'm sure the Youtube viewers wouldn't mind." Yet another shiver went down Ian's spine, although this time it was much colder. 

Ian began crouched on the floor as the music blared from the speakers, and suddenly jumped up and began seductively strutting across the room. He felt something flutter across his back and turned around to find that David had stacks of paper slips in his hand and began brushing them away from him as if they were dollar bills. He grinned slyly as he stage-whispered, "Come on, Ian. Bring it." 

Ian drew his hands across his face as a reveal, and began squatting up and down with his hands crossed against his chest. He then raised up his right hand and began twisting it left and right. "This is actually a pretty good workout," he panted, "I don't even know singers do this and sing for two hours in a row." As he raised his leg for a side kick, he ended slipping on the carpet, and tipping over to the side just like David did. "This body was not designed for dancing," as he clamoured to get back up. He sat down, leaned back and posed like he was sitting on a throne. "Peasants, I am your king. Bow down to me," he warbled in a thick, fake British accent. 

David guffawed so hard that he ended up collapsing off the sofa. "What the heck was that for!?" as he pulled himself back up. 

"For flair. A true dancer can never have enough of it." 

...

Joshua declared, "...and to absolutely nobody's surprise whatsover, Lasercorn comes in absolute dead last." 

"But in terms of calories burned, in first place," David called from behind him. 

"Yeah...eh...no. And due to an unfortunate slip on the carpet, and the subsequent failure to get back up, Ian will be joining him. All hail the re-union of Iancorn!" 

"Fine. Let's just do this," David eased himself off the sofa, stretched his arms, yawned and shrugged up. "Just yet another video where I completely humiliate myself."

Ian smiled at David, "Don't be like that man! You're dancing with me; remember how much fun we had last time? Joven, let's hit it!" Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" became crooning softly over the speakers, and the two silhouettes flashed onto the screen, their hands on each other's waists. 

David jumped back as if he had seen a ghost. "Absolutely no way. I am not touching Ian like that, ever. In all of eternity. I can't even dance at a club; how on earth am I supposed to dance so daintily with another person?" 

Joshua bluntly replied, "You did it at your wedding. Now, hurry up and do your punishment, loser. The song is already starting."

David sighed again and took his place, his left hand on Ian's right shoulder, his right hand was against Ian's waist, and his body and face was drawn close against his. "Ian, I am very sorry in advance for my stepping on you throughout this. As you know painfully well, I have two left feet." 

Ian smiled and replied, "You're not the only one there. Just follow my lead. Forward, back, forward, back..." The two of them started with a simple back-forth stepping, David keeping up with Ian's every step, rigidly at first, but soon became as if they were gliding on air; David then proceeded to arc his arm to allow Ian to do a simple 360 degree twirl, all while maintaining a neutral expression on both their faces. After mirroring each other's hand movements, Ian turned around, his back facing David, before David proceeded to pick Ian by his legs and swing him round horizontally in a circle and dropping him off standing, a shocked expression on his face. 

"What...what..what just happened? How did I...I did not just...Whoa. That was...It was just all in the moment. Wow. That was incredible," David said facing skyward as he and Ian struck a variety of poses while lying down on the floor. They then both smoothly slid back standing, and Ian proceeded to trust fall back into David's outreached arms for the final pose.

"Guys? Look at their score for their dance. That's higher than any score anyone else has gotten this entire episode", Anthony pointed out, before the rest of the crew erupted into applause. "Considering what happened the last time they did a duet, who would have thought Lasercorn had any potential for dancing?" 

Ian turned around to face David, their faces only a couple of centimeters apart. "You did a really good job there, partner; I'm really proud of you," he smiled. 

"Only because I had a really amazing leader which to follow," David replied. "Maybe these dancing games aren't so bad after all." The two breathed deeply, let the feeling of exhilaration, of success, linger between them for a moment, before separating, the awkwardness of being so close to each other suddenly settling. They shook hands, before retiring to the sofa. 

...

"Guys, have you seen the reviews of our latest Game Bang? Our Twitter Feed and the Youtube Video are absolutely exploding with comments," Mari commented a couple days later at work, dragging over David to see. "The Game Bang already has more than 10 million views, one of the highest number of views any Game Bang video has ever had, and has over 1,000 comments." The comments scrolled across her screen as she mentioned, "There are a number of them hilariously mocking both you and Ian's epic falls, but most of them just comment on how good of a dance that was." Mari turned around her chair to face David, "Maybe you do have a future in partner dancing after all." 

David replied with a smile, "Nah. I think I just had the perfect partner to dance with that time."


	3. Sick Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, L-Corn's child has been replaced by a character with a different name, cause...no children in fan-fiction! Cheers.

"I'm in love with the shape of...", Ian's phone buzzed on the bedside table, its vibration rattling the drawers and rudely waking him up. He groaned and flipped his head over in an attempt to muffle the ringtone, but such an effort proved to be futile. Still face down and without even looking at the screen, he snatched the phone and held it shaking to his head. "Yello, numbskull? Why are you calling so early in the morning? Normal people sleep, you know," Ian grumbled. 

For a moment all he could hear was the sound of someone blowing their nose over the phone. Then David's bizarrely-high pitched voice warbled over the phone, "I-Ian...?" Sneeze. "I-I'm a little sick today." Cough. "Could you please come...," Nose blow like a foghorn, "over and take care of Andrew?" Series of coughs, one louder and more strained than the next. "I can't blow germs all around him. Plus, Brina's away right now, and she..." Loud retching sound. "...won't be back until the evening." 

Whatever David had, it definitely sounded serious. "I'll be right over there," Ian replied, before hanging up and once again wrapping himself in blankets. Maybe just five minutes more, he thought.

...

When he finally decided to stared in disbelief at the tiny screen on his phone, and then in front at the cozy one-story house in front of him, its white window shades closed and the roof painted a soft woody brown. This was David's house? Since Ian and Pam had the biggest dining table, they had gathered their friends over at their house on multiple occasions, but not once had Ian gone over to David's. He had expected the front door to be decorated with some gaming memorabilia, or some bizarre splash of colour, but no. Ian felt that he should have expected this, David being a normal dad at all, but still, he couldn't picture David, the goofball, video-game obsessed, infinitely sarcastic David to live somewhere so...quaint.

He got out of his car and walked up to the front porch, glanced at his phone, and fumbled the lock before twisting it to open the steel lockbox which contained the spare key. "He really shouldn't leave the key outside for anybody to take...", Ian muttered under his breath to himself, "It's a wonder no one has broken into this house yet." He opened a door to one of the messiest hallways he'd ever seen: awkward stains across the floor, dirty piles of laundry and children's toys dotted like islets as he'd tried to manoeuvre his way through this obstacle course. "I guess I could imagine a kid living here...? And two evidently pretty messy parents," Ian mused to himself. 

As he walked past the mountain of dirty dishes piled up in the sink, he knocked on, then entered what he assumed to be the master bedroom. Ian slowly eased open the door and slipped inside, all he could hear were retching and heaving sounds coming from the adjacent bathroom, a look of disgust slowly blossoming all over Ian's face. Instead, he approached the crib and picked up Andrew with a smile, who had been wailing before than, but then turned to look at Ian with a quizzical expression across his face. Ian held out Andrew with both his arms and moved them as if he was steering, "Hello, Andrew, this is Uncle Ian. Shall I get you ready for daycare? Yes, we totally can!" 

...

David came out of the bathroom having just thrown up what was probably last night's lunch and dinner, his face looking a little queasy. Being bent over a toilet and on-off retching for 45 minutes can do that to you. Immediately, he noticed that Andrew was abnormally quiet, and when he looked over... "Andrew? Andrew! Where did you wander off to this time? Andrew!"

In that moment, Ian chose to come back into his room. "Don't get your bathrobe in a twist, David, I just sent Andrew off to daycare. You were spending so long in the bathroom that I was beginning to wonder if that was actually you, or just a recording of throw-up sounds set on loop." 

"But...but...but...," David paused for a moment as a wave of nausea swept over him, "How?" 

"Well...I got him dressed, made pancakes for him in the morning, and then drove him to daycare, just like any other responsible caretaker would," Ian grinned. "The fact that you guys kept the address of his daycare on the fridge with those adorable little magnets was quite helpful indeed, although I must say the teacher in charge was quite shocked when I showed up...Anyway, I have already called the Smosh office to inform them that neither of us will be coming in today." 

"What? No. It's fine, I can still go to work, it's fine..." David went over to his closet and started rifling through his clothes, all while coughing repeatedly, "It's not that bad..."

"Young man, get back to bed this instant. I am not having you spread nasty viruses all over the office, so you are going to go back to bed and sleep it off right now," Ian's voice suddenly morphed into a stern dad tone, as if he was suddenly chiding a small child. 

"Young man? I'm older than you, Ian. Besides, it's fine, I'll just wear a mask, that way it won't spread, it'll all be just fine," David said muffledly as he struggled to put on his clothes.

Ian's voice hardened, "David Moss, I do not know what delusions of grandeur that you are currently having, but you're very clearly incredibly sick right now, and you are in no shape to go to work right now, so you are going to get your sorry butt back to bed and rest. And you can tell I'm super serious here because I'm using your full name here."

"You can try to stop me, but I'm going to work now. Besides, there is no way that you could stop me." As David stood up off the bed, Ian gave him a gentle shove, causing him to flail backwards into his bed. 

Ian smirked, "Well yes, on a normal day, but when your face is paler than a ghost and you look like you're about to vomit, you stand no chance." David's face suddenly contorted as he quickly rushed to the bathroom. "My point exactly."

...

David woke up groggily, rubbing his eyes as he tried to clear away the blurriness at the edges of his vision. "What happened...?", he muttered to himself, as he looked around. Despite his last memory being that of bending over the toilet, he somehow found himself in bed, his head under a pillow and swathed amongst sheets. "How did I even get here...?"

Ian came in with a bowl of piping hot soup in both hands, his right pinkie hooked on a plastic bag full of medicine, and a surgical mask covering his face. As he placed the menagerie of items on top of David's bedstand, Ian yammered, "Me. After you hadn't emerged from the bathroom after a while, I went in to find you passed out on the floor: no surprise there, you probably just tried yourself out form throwing up. So then I cleaned you up, well, tried to, then lugged you back over to your bed - and boy are you heavy, I think I may have sprained my ankle - before going back to clean up the bathroom. After that, I went to the pharmacy to pick up some cough and cold medicine - as well as some masks for me cause I am definitely not getting sick as well - doubled over to the supermarket to pick up some groceries - let's face it, you cannot survive solely on Cheetos and Coke alone - came back here, made chicken soup because that's customary for people who are sick - I apologize in advance for my simply terrific cooking skills - and here we are." Ian paused to take in a breath after his tirade. "So the pharmacist said to take these pink pills every four hours, and these white ones..."

"Stop, stop, stop. You did all that for me? I wouldn't even go through all that trouble for myself: I suspect I would have just slept and eaten ice-cream," David chuckled. 

"Which explains why every time you get sick, you're away from the office for approximately two weeks. Anyway, hurry up and eat this medicine, and then head back to sleep." Ian held out the pills on his palm, "Swallow." 

"No!", David exclaimed, as he swatted Ian's palm away, spilling the pills across the bed, before he flipped over and rolled up in his blankets. "Go away! I don't want any medicine!" 

Like an immature child, Ian leapt onto the bed as well, "Young man, you will take your medicine!", before attempting to unravel David as he tried to slither away. 

...

"Oh David I'm so sorry the flight got delayed and...", Brina vented as she led her suitcase through the doorway, and then paused as she picked up on the noticeably clean floor. "What on earth happened...?"

Ian popped his head out of the kitchen, "Oh Brina you're back!" He stepped out into the hallway and recounted for her the events of the day: how David had called him after she couldn't make it, how he spent the day taking care of both David and Andrew, and how he managed to exhaust David into taking his medicine after an intense pillowfight. "I have no idea how you manage the both of them every day," Ian confessed, "Andrew is quite feisty, but David is on a whole other level. What a handful..."

Brina gestured around the house, "But the floor? The dishes? Why...?"

Ian shrugged, "Oh, I just can't stand such a messy house, no offense," he said sheepishly. "So I washed the dishes, cleaned up and vacuumed the floor, and did the laundry." 

Brina suddenly enveloped Ian in a hug. With her hands around him, she smiled and said, "Thanks for being such a good friend to David. We are so lucky to have you in our lives." 

Ian, a little surprised, stuttered, "Uhh..N-No problem. Anytime." He pulled away from Brina's embrace, and headed towards the door, "Whelp. I better get going now..." 

...

A few days later, Ian was in the office editing a new script when a piece of paper fluttered down from above on top of him. He looked up to find David's grin hovering above. "Hey, I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of me the other day. I know that I was a bit of a complete jerk that day - all my sensible cells were under attack that day - so yeah, thanks. And hey, look! I'm back to fighting shape much faster this time! Which means now I'll be able to thrash you in any pillow fight."

"Anytime, bro, anytime. And it's fine: I just did what any good friend will do. Also, I don't know how you ever lived as a bachelor; just a few days without Brina and your house was already a mess, " Ian replied.

"What bachelor days? I've always been a ladies man," David's grin grew even wider. "But indeed, Brina thanks you very much for saving her all that work. And that right there is a picture Andrew drew for you; considering that we usually just have Coco puffs for breakfast, you really upstaged me with those pancakes."

"Hey, unlike you with your married life, I actually have to be able to cook good breakfasts," Ian laughed. "Anyway, glad to hear that you're much better now." 

"So anyways, I've got to catch up on all my missed work, so..." David slinked away and shouted across the hallway, "See you later!" 

Ian chuckled as he hung up Andrew's picture on the posterboard, next to all the other goofy pictures and random noticed. On it was scrawled two stick figures, the tall of which was mostly likely Ian, and the words, "Fun dey wiht Dady Ian."


	4. Danger

"Now that we're done, can we please go and chill in the ocean for a moment? My feet are absolutely burning up," Ian hopped around on one leg jumping around like a hot potato, alternating his feet in an attempt to evade the scorching sand beneath them. It was a typical blazing hot summer's day in July, the sky painted a cerulean blue without a cloud in sight, and they had just finished filming a whole Smosh crew sketch on the beach, an once-in-a-year opportunity after filming the Wild West Summer Games. The dynamic of the group had noticeably shifted since Anthony's departure, and even though it had already been a couple of months, their videos was still adapting to his absence. 

"Yeah, sure, why not....?", Joe's voice trailed as Ian raced across the sand, his feet flinging clouds of sand behind him as he dashed towards the azure ocean, his arms open in a wide embrace as he waded into the ocean, the cool water washing over his sunburnt chest.

"It's so...cold...and nice...," Ian sighed contentedly as he lay back floating on top of the water, using his hands to paddle small circles in the water. "I could just stay here all day..." He glanced up at the bright sun before immediately turning away, covering his eyes. "Maybe not..."

Soon, the rest of the Smosh crew had joined him in the shallows of the water, splashing water at each other, and laughing just like one big family. At one point, David snuck up behind Ian underwater, and just like a pizza ninja persona, snatched his leg in an attempt to drag his underwater, resulting in a childish tussle that sent the rest of the crew into peals of laughter. 

...

"I'm going to try swim out further, okay guys?" Ian called out as he methodically ploughed against the coast. "I'm tired of repeatedly dragging my feet against the rocks; it hurts! It's so incredibly shallow!"

David sighed, "You're shorter than me! How on earth...never mind. Just be careful out there, okay?"

Ian sighed, "Fine, Dad. Whatever," as he rolled his eyes and turned away. The sea seemed so calm, the waves barely breaking the shore...it shouldn't be too bad right? He kept swimming until the rest of the crew just seemed like dolls on the shore, before just paddling around in circles, basking in the cool water, a welcome distraction from the dusty set that they had spent the last week or so at. 

Suddenly, a strong undertow materialised, strong waves crashing over him, pulling him under the water. He frantically parted water in an attempt to escape its grasp, but his paddling was simply too weak. Ian flailed and thrashed in a frantic attempt as the waves gripped onto him hard and fast, threatening to drag him under at any moment. Any attempt to call for help was immediately silenced by a renewed flood of water, causing him to violently choke and spit out. Struggling to move against the destructive wall of force, his movements became weaker, less protestant, his body slowly dipping below the surface. Jostled and shoved around by the increasingly powerful currents, he began to inch even further away from the shore, until he was a faint figure in the horizon.

...

"Hey guys?", David tapped Joshua on the shoulder. "Is that Ian? Why is there so much splashing around him. "...Hello?"

Joshua paused for a moment, as if in shock, before urgently replying, "Dude, I think he's in trouble! We need to go help him!"

"Got it! Where...?", David wandered across the beach to find a lifeguard chair with a makeshift sign saying, "Gone for coffee break. Be back in half an hour." He stomped his food repeatedly into the sand in frustration; how could these people be so inconsiderate? He snatched the preserver ring and the rope from the side of the chair, the latter of which he tossed towards the approaching panting Joshua. 

"Tie this rope to a tree, and make sure you tie it well," David said as he approached the water, preserver in arm. 

"What...? Hey! No! This is not safe!" Joshua protested as David began swimming towards the horizon, carving strong strokes through the water in the process. "So reckless..", he muttered, as he searched for a tree to tie the rope to. 

...

Despite the strong currents, David was headstrong, the life preserver tightly tucked underneath one arm, swimming the way the bird flies towards his friend, his tunnel vision making him completely focused on getting to him. It had been almost 10 minutes; Ian must be absolutely exhausted trying to stay afloat by this point. That thought in his mind, he renewed his efforts to reach him, and despite his arms threatening to fall off at this point, he carried on, drawing closer stroke by stroke. 

By the time he reached there, Ian was already unconscious with exhaustion, his body floating like a rag doll, thrown around like a discarded toy amongst the waves. After numerous attempts to grab hold of his limp hand, David finally locked on, looping the life preserver over Ian's head, and pushing his unconscious body back towards shore. His arms and legs felt as if they had already been pumped of lead, like he couldn't move another centimetre, but he must. He had to. To prevent them both from being lost to the waves. Through his heavy panting, he slowly turned around, and began his arduous journey back. 

...

"Hey, he's finally coming back!" Joshua called out to everyone else. "C'mon guys, let's help get them back; they're both probably both exhausted. We probably need to help haul them back." Joshua loosely gripped both of his hands on the rope, and while barely putting in any effort, lightly shifted the rope towards the trees. "I hate Tug of War." 

...

As he reached the shore, David, with a pained expression streaked across his face, forced himself to stand up and haul the unconscious Ian to the shore. "You guys already called the hospital right? You did right?" David said to everyone standing along the line, running over to the two of them. 

"Yes, don't worry; the paramedics are just getting here," soothed Mari, "Ian is going to be just fine. There is nothing to worry about. In fact, I believe they are just getting here", she noted, turning her head towards the road. 

In a brisk and efficient manner, the paramedics soon had Ian loaded up onto a stretcher, an oxygen mask over his face, and were carting him over towards the ambulance. "Please, I need to go with him to make sure he's okay. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to him," David pleaded with one of the paramedics. 

"Sorry sir; only family members are allowed aboard the ambulance with us. We will make sure that he gets the best treatment possible," the paramedic curtly replied, before loading him into the ambulance. Mari quickly through a towel over him and put her arms around him as David's eyes followed the ambulance, watching it speed away. 

...

Ian woke up groggily, a faint blur around the edges of his vision. He re-adjusted his hospital gown in an attempt to sit up, propping himself up with a pillow. He looked to his left to see an IV, a heart rate monitor, and David, his face buried within his arms in a crouched position, sound asleep. 

"David...?" Ian said tentatively, not knowing quite sure whether or not he wanted David to wake up. 

He lifted his head up from above his arms, his eyes stretching open. "Ian...?", he yawned. "Oh thank God you're okay!", David exclaimed as he rushed towards Ian, his arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. "I was so worried you were never going to wake up," he said with his face still behind Ian's neck. "We all rushed here from the as soon as we could.We waited for a while, but it was getting late, and everyone else had to go home. I phoned Brina to tell her I was going to keep waiting here: The doctor said that you probably passed out from exhaustion, but I couldn't leave until I saw with my own eyes you were okay."

"Yeah...I think you're pinching off and getting entangled amongst all the wires," Ian smiled, causing David to let go of his crushing embrace. "Thanks for waiting here for me though. I guess it's a terrible time for Pam to be out of town, right?"

David's voice suddenly turned stern, "I don't care if your girlfriend is in or out of town; you are never going to do anything so reckless ever again. You could have died out there today, and if we hadn't been all there together, you probably would have. And speaking of which, I managed to get the stupid lifeguard fired: going to break before his replacement arrived was a dumb, dumb move. I just...I couldn't imagine my life without my best friend." His voice turned soft again, and he placed his left hand on Ian's right. 

"Don't worry, I never will, ever again. And it wasn't everyone: it was you. You went out there, against the waves, against all odds, and putting your own life at risk, you got me out of the sticky situations I had foolishly put myself into. I was rash and stupid, and you...you saved me." Ian locked eyes with David, a wishful expression on his face. "I guess... just want you to know that I appreciate what you did for me, for without you, I probably wouldn't still be here." 

"I guess that's just what friends are for, right? I'm sure that you'd have done the exact same thing for me," David solemnly replied. "If you could swim at all that is. Man, I have seen your swimming style, and I'm surprised you even survived out there as long as you did. I thought you'd have drowned in half that time," David broke into a laugh. 

Ian threw a weak mock punch as David's shoulder, "Hey! I could swim well if I wanted to," a broadening smile flourishing across his face. "Anyway, I need to go sleep now; I'm going to need my rest if I'm ever going to get away from the horrible hospital."

David stood up and walked towards the door and said, "Well then. I best not disturb you. Good night." 

"Good night."


	5. Brunch

"Well there you are!", Ian got up from the bench to greet David, his arms open in exasperation. "I've been waiting here for at least...15 minutes," he said, glancing at his phone. 

David rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Well I'm sorry. I had to make sure that Tyler was OK with the babysitter, and I woke up late this morning. As usual." 

Ian laughed, "And I wouldn't expect anything else from you. Speaking of which, the ladies are running a little late from the shopping mall; they're stuck in traffic. I still don't understand how anyone could wake up so early in the morning to walk around on six-inch stilts ooing and aahing at things they probably wouldn't end up buying. I'd rather spend the morning sleeping." 

David shrugged, "I guess whatever floats their boat. Should we just go in first? I'm sure they'll be here in just a few minutes. Brina had heard of this place " 

Ian replied, "That works. Besides, I need someone that is not so sunny to play Fruit Ninja on; it's really hard to see the screen in all this light. Besides, I like the air con."

"Seriously? You still play that ridiculous mobile app? Don't you have anything better to do with your time?" David responded as they started heading to the restaurant. 

"Only when I'm bored."

...

"So...a table for two? Would you prefer a romantic table by the window, or would you guys prefer to be closer to the center?", the cheery hostess asked with a smile. 

"Ummm...", Ian paused. "No, we're not a couple," he said, gesturing towards himself and David. "We actually have a reservation for 4 under Brina Moss; the rest of our party will be arriving shortly." 

"Oh! Well, then please let me escort you to your table. Please follow me.", the hostess turned, gesturing for the two of them to follow her. "Here are the menus, please take your time going over them. Today's brunch special is a cheese soufflé, and if you have any questions about the food, please feel free to ask any of the waitstaff. Please take your time," the hostess smiled as she left. 

David sighed, "Well...that was awkward," as he unfolded the napkin and placed it across his lap. 

Ian replied, "You think? I've spent the better part of a decade fending off allegations about me and Anthony being...together, and I'm sick of all these artists and fan-fiction writers continuously trying to put us together. I'm not gay, and I shouldn't have to continuously put up with all these people trying to make me feel uneasy about my sexuality. I'm perfectly comfortable with who I am, and who I'm with, and I wish everyone else around me could see that too. At least with Anthony having left Smosh, the constant barrage has subsided a bit, but..." Ian paused, suddenly aware that David was staring intently at him from across the table, both hands clutched underneath and supporting his head. "I'm sorry, I just...this is a sensitive topic for me. I'm sure it's harder for people who are actually gay to come out and be themselves, but I'm just so tired and weary of people accusing Pam of stealing me from Anthony, or honestly, sometimes even you. She doesn't mind, but...I do. I'm sorry that you had to listen to this long and boring rant." Ian bent forward and put his hands behind his neck, staring at his plate. "I just feel as if I needed to get that out. I can't understand why people can't just be friends, and they have to be sucked into this twisted journey of being 'shipped', which just ends up hurting everyone involved." 

David gently took one of Ian's hands in his and softly said, "Don't apologize. I totally get it. I don't have the entire malicious internet community whisper falsities about my sexuality behind a screen, but like any other Youtuber, I've had my fair share of nasty comments that really shook me sometimes, be it about my bizarre orange hair, my mohawk, my wife and child, or my clearly amazing skill at gaming." He gave a chuckle and smirk after that statement. "I sometimes wish I could just go up to the haters and yell in their face, force them to back their words. But I can't. I just know that I have people in my life who know what everything everyone else says isn't true, and that they would support me and love me for who they are." David placed his other hand on top of Ian's. "And I at least hope you know that you'll be my bro, no matter what happens."

Ian smiled and nodded, "Thank you. I needed to hear that. And I know that we joke around the office, and on videos that we are Smosh's greatest bromance, but in reality, you really are my best bro. And with everything changing, with Anthony leaving, and the dynamic of Smosh changing so much, I'm glad to have some kind of constant that I can fall back on." 

Just then, a husband and wife passed by and the wife noted, "Look at that nice gay couple holding hands, comforting each other. I'm so glad that such people can feel comfortable enough to have such a public display of affection." 

Ian, enraged by the comment, suddenly stood up, and just went absolutely ballistic, and started yelling at the women, "What on earth do you think you're saying? I am not gay, got it? Nor will I ever be gay! Why do you people keep naively assuming that I'm gay? Is it my haircut? Is it the way I dress? Is it the way I talk?" Ian knocked over some glasses and cutlery as he approached the woman. "My friend is just comforting me after an outburst I had about my own insecurity - is any display of emotion considered gay now? I'm so sick of society imposing these stupid stereotypes and outdated traditions, trying to wear down my confidence and make me question who I am. Are you saying that all men who wear pink, and care about their looks, and any other pointless stereotype are gay now? Is that what it is? What a joke." He approached her menacingly, his hands clenched in anger. "So woman, who do you think you are trying to afflict me with your bigoted notions of what is acceptable and what is not? Maybe you're lesbian, I mean just look at those ridiculous boots, and maybe you're just holding your husband as a beard? Is that what it is?", Ian pressed his face against hers, knocking away her partner with his hand pushing her to the wall, completely ignoring the calls from fellow customers and the waitstaff. He pressed his hands on both sides of her frightened face as he leaned in even closer, breathing heavily. "Do you still think I'm gay now?" 

David prised off Ian's hand from the wall. "Ian...she was just trying to be nice. It was an honest mistake. Can't you see that was...", he was promptly cut short by Ian, who in his fit of rage, slapped David across the face with the back of his hand. Realizing what he had just done, Ian suddenly snapped out of it, and left the wall and went over, caressing the red mark forming on David's face. 

"I'm so sorry, oh my god, are you okay?" Ian said, startled, as he scanned David's expression. 

"I'm fine. No Ian, I really am. I think we better leave now though. You've torn up half the restaurant, and the waitstaff are shooting us some pretty nasty looks. Why don't you wait outside while I sort this out, okay?" 

"Yeah...I'll go." As he left, he heard the murmurs of the rest of the customers, "Well we at least know that he's a complete psycho..." "Oh wow, what a homophobe...""That's the example of what we don't want our children to ever become..."

...

Ian sat up as David stepped out of the restaurant. "Was everything okay?"

David shrugged, "You hadn't broken anything, so there was nothing to pay. And once the woman got over the fact that you literally pushed her against the wall and frightened the heck out of her, she forgave you and agreed not to press charges for assault." He sighed and shook his head, "Oh Ian...why did you do that? I know it was a touchy subject, but you didn't have to burst out like that. Good thing I was there to stop you when I did, because who knew what that could have turned into." David slung his arm over Ian's shoulder, "Promise that you'll never do something like that again." 

"I promise. It was a one-time thing, and I was a little high-strung. I am glad that you were there to stop me - I'm not even sure how I would have spiralled. Are you okay though? I didn't mean to do that." Ian glanced over at the ugly red mark on David's face. 

"Don't worry about it, Ian. I can't say the same about you for the brunch situation though: Brina is going to be incredibly miffed that you just got us banned from the restaurant that she's been dying to try for a couple of weeks now. Plus the fact you just physically assaulted her husband." David let out a laugh. "Just kidding. We forgive you. But we do need to find another brunch place: I'm sure that the ladies will be hungry after shopping so much." 

"Yeah, I actually know this great cafe not too far from here. Let me just text them the address..."

...

That night, David searched up the Iancorn tribute video on Youtube, and watched it on his laptop while in bed with a bag of popcorn in his other hand. Even back then, they looked so happy together, so innocent and carefree. What he didn't understand was how people even thought of this as even remotely romantic: they were acting so stupidly. What it was is the start of a bromance that lasted even till today, and David knew, without a doubt, that no matter what Ian did or said to him, he would always be there for him. David shut the laptop and switched off the light.


	6. The Wedding

David fiddled with the collar of his shirt, tugging at the noose around his neck as he and Brina walked up to the entrance of the hotel. He was dressed in a simple black suit with a thin red tie and matching dress shoes, whereas she had worn a formal red dress which flowed down to her ankles. Brina looked elegant and composed as always, whereas David had worn the exact suit to his own wedding years ago, and having adopted the mantle of parenthood, this was starting to feel a little tight. "I hate these things; why can't people just where comfortable T-shirts to weddings? Stupid tradition." He yanked it off and began looping it around his hand. "The ceremony hasn't begun yet, so this is fine for now." 

Brina whacked his shoulder with a look of disapproval on her face. "David! This is a formal event! Besides, most of the people here recognize you: I am not about to be embarrassed by you in front of such a large crowd again. And this is the wedding of one of your best friends ever: Do I need to remind you of the samurai sword incident?" She put her hand on her hip, and performed a Laserstare at him, cocking her head and intensely staring at him. 

David blushed a bright pink, looking "Fine, fine, I'll put it on.", he said resignedly. "But to be fair, you were the one who got me that sword in the first place. You should have known better than to let me around such a sharp and unwieldy object in the first place. Now...how do you tie a tie again...?" 

...

"Hey Ian, congrats..." David trailed off as he noticed the frantic expression on his friend's face. After looking around in the other direction, Ian's eyes lit up as he noticed David, and rushed over, a phone and sheafs of notes in his hand. 

"David, David, Oh My God this is an absolute disaster I can't believe this is actually happening...", Ian panickly rambled to him, words rolling off incoherently as he was having a complete freak out. 

David held up his hands in front of him, "Slow down man. Just tell me, sentence by sentence tell me exactly what's going on. I need to be able to understand what's going on for me to help you. Just take a deep breath. Inhale, and exhale. There you go. Now, again: inhale, exhale. Awesome. Now, why are you panicking?" 

"Peter's supposed to be my best man, but I just found out he tripped on the stairs and broke his ankle. Mari just called me from the hospital, and there's no way he's going to make it back in time for the ceremony. And for some reason, our wedding planner isn't here at all, and I can't reach him for some reason. There is so much stuff missing right now, and I have no idea what to do!" Ian breathed in deeply again, "1...2...3...Ok. David, I really need your help here. Would you please help me? This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life getting married to the woman of my dreams and this...this is just a nightmare." 

"Are you sure you want me to help you here? I mean, you know that I'm totally disorganized and everything, right? Are you sure you don't want Joshua to help you instead?" David responded with an imposing shrug. 

"C'mon, David, could you please be serious here?", Ian said exasperatedly. "I asked you because you're one of my best friends, and I trust you. There's no way I'd let you do this if I didn't." 

David snatched the papers from Ian's hand without even asking. "I'm on it." 

...

"I don't care what whoever told you, this order sheet says that we have orders for 20 white rose bouquets, and I have the payment form and it has gone through, so those flowers better be on those tables after the ceremony or there will be a reckoning, I swear. Yes, you understand me? Good. I'm not letting anyone ruin my best friend's wedding, got it?" David hung up and sighed for what was at least the tenth time today. "Geez, I remember all these random things we had to deal with when I got married, but at least I didn't have so many things missing," he noted, muttering to himself. Just then, Ian entered the waiting room, and before he could ask, David jumped in, "So I just got off the phone with the florist, and they said the missing bouquets will be here very soon. I also got the seating plan back to what it should have been, the caterer has taken that frog leg nonsense off the menu, the wedding arch is right where it should be, and I've made sure the open bar has been fully stocked with alcohol, and not fruit smoothies. Which is great, because I'm feeling that I'll be visiting there very soon. And that...should be about it." David flashed a smile towards Ian, "So...did I do a good enough job?" 

Ian stood shocked for a moment, and then gathered his words together. "Wow...I can't believe...you got all of that done in such a short span of time. I doubt even I could have done so. I guess...thanks for coming through for me yet again. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you're going to come through for me every time, no matter where or what the situation is." 

"No problem, bro...Are you crying?" David grabbed a tissue from the side and wiped the streams of water coming down from Ian's red face. "You've got to get it together before the ceremony starts: we can't have you looking like a complete mess as you say the vows to your love of my life." 

"No it's fine, I just...I'm so happy.", Ian smiled, his eyes still a little puffy. "Today is the day I finally get to be united with the woman of my dreams, the woman who'll I'll get to spend the rest of my life with, going to parties in Pokemon pyjamas and spending lazy Sunday afternoons playing video games on the couch, and I'm so glad that all my best friends will be here to witness this. Especially you. I guess after all I have to let you be best man now, don't I?" 

"Eh. Take it or leave it," but the grin on David's face betrayed his words. "I'm so glad that you don't have any doubts going into this: this'll take my job as best man in reassuring so much easier." 

Ian stared in front of the full length-mirror panelled into the wall. "Yeah...I guess that I am. I mean...I love Pam so much, I just can't wait until our union can finally be official." He turned around to face David. "I do have one confession to make before the ceremony though. It's just something I need to get off my mind before we do this," he said, his hands in his pockets. 

"Go ahead. I promise that I won't tell a soul", David gave Ian a cheeky smile, and awkwardly tried to wink at him. 

Ian paused briefly, and resumed "Okay, well...I just wanted to tell you that I once had feelings for you. " Before David could say anything, Ian continued, "It was just a small crush, and it was just...I was just a little confused with you saving me from dying, and for a moment, I thought that our bromance could maybe be a little more." Seeing David's completely stunned expression, his mouth slightly open in surprise, Ian quickly followed up, "It was just a fleeting feeling. I mean...I don't think that it could have developed to anything serious. Hand to God, I am not gay, or bi, or anything like that, I just feel really close to you, and that..."

"I had feelings for you too," David suddenly interrupted Ian. "It started the day you came over my house to take care of me when I was sick, and I thought...maybe there could have been something between us. I am very happily married with children, and there's no way I could ever leave that life behind, but yes, I did think about us for a moment." 

Suddenly, Joshua burst through the door, declaring "Ian, c'mon! Where the heck were you guys for the last half hour? The ceremony is about to start. Don't you want to get married?" 

A look of panic crossed both David and Ian's face as they rushed out off the door, leaving what was just said hanging in the air between them. 

...

"You may now kiss the bride." Ian closed his eyes and leaned in towards Pam for a passionate kiss, turning his head slightly down and putting his hands behind her head. Everyone in the chapel clapped loudly, particularly David, who was standing next to the newly wed husband and wife, a look of celebration and fulfilment over his face. He furiously clapped again as Ian and Pam walked down the aisle, waving at the rest of the crowd, who had stood up together as a standing ovation, cheering the couple as they walked past. 

...

"That was a fun wedding," Brina noted as she climbed into the taxi after David. "That steak was quite good, and there wasn't an excessive amount of flirting during the reception. All in all, that was rather wonderful." She turned to David, who was wordlessly staring out of the window. "You've been acting quite strange since the ceremony. Is everything all right?", she asked. 

David took in a deep breath, and said "Yeah, it's just...Ian said something really weird to me just before the ceremony, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. I'm just...not quite sure what to think about it now."

Brina smiled, and replied, "Well, Ian says weird things all the time: it's practically his job. Besides, it was just before the ceremony, and he was incredibly wound up, so he probably said some even weirder things. I'm not going to ask you what it was even though it does appear to be eating you up, because I trust you to handle this on your own. I'm sure you'll figure it out." 

"I trust you," Ian's voice echoed throughout David's mind. 

"Yeah. I've got it." David replied, and turned to stare at the bright city skyline, the bright lights blurring as the taxi pulled away from the hotel. 

...

"Oh geez...I am not fit enough for this...I drank way too much champagne at the reception, I think I'm going to throw up if...yes! I got there!" Ian put his hands on his knees, puffing heavily after unceremoniously dumping Pam on the bed. "Bring the bride across the threshold is a stupid tradition that people shouldn't have to do.", he said, panting. 

"Well, no one asked you to do it," Pam chuckled as she re-arranged her dress. "Well I guess it's time for the next step to consummate our marriage, or if you're too tired after that brief 30-second exercise, should we just put on a movie and fall asleep together?" 

"Sure, but before we do whatever we do tonight, I have a confession to make. I just want to make sure we go into this marriage with absolutely nothing to hide" Ian straightened up and looked at Pam, who had spread out across the bed making herself comfortable. 

"This sounds serious." She patted the pillow next to her. "Come on, sit down and tell me exactly what happened." 

In a single leap, Ian flopped down on the bed right next to Pam. "Well, I confessed to David that I did have feelings for him some point. I'm telling you, nothing ever happened between us, ever, and nothing's ever going to happen. I just...I've told you about all my exes, and I didn't want to keep anything from you." 

A moment of silence floated between them. The Pam broke it by saying, "Okay, that was not the statement that I expected to be hearing on my wedding night. But...I am glad that you did choose to tell me. I am even more glad to hear that out of even more people, you have chosen to be with me. And for that I am forever grateful." 

"And I too am forever grateful for you." Ian wrapped his arms around Pam, and pulled together in a close embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? XD


	7. The Convention

David anxiously shuffled sideways in his narrow seat, trying to shift around into a comfortable position, and tugging on one end of the seatbelt in an futile attempt to get even more loose. After five minutes of trying, he slumped back, resigned, "I do not like how annoyingly cramped these stupid seats are. Why couldn't we fly business class instead?", he whined. 

Ian rolled his eyes at him, "Because we're not filthy rich? We're Youtubers who play video games and write comedy skits; it's not as if we're snooty rich businessmen. When we took that 13 hour flight to Japan, now that was an absolute nightmare." He glanced over to his right at Pam, who was smiling as she recalled the trip the recently wed couple took a couple of years back. "Also, I'm taller than you and in the middle seat, so zip it, young man." 

The overhead seat belt sign clicked off, to which David responded by immediately snapping off his seat belt and trying to frantically clamor over both Pam and Ian before they could even respond. "Woo! Now let me go walk round for a bit." 

"Can't you just wait for us to get out first before you do?", Ian pressed himself against the sheet as David shifted past him. 

The three of them were on the way to PAX East, Pam and David there to promote their new channel ToasterGhost. Ian, never missing an opportunity to spend some quality time with his wife and his best friend, decided to tag along. David, on the other hand, felt a little third-wheeled, sidelined by the constant glances and jokes the couple had between them. His own better half was at home, taking care of his son while he embarked on this cross-country quest to...fan-boy over video games...? 

...

David slung his backpack onto the bed, before proceeding to flop onto the bed right next to it, leaving his suitcase isolated next to the door. They had just checked into the hotel near the convention center, and were getting ready to leave for dinner in a few moments. Getting up, he drew the window-shades open and glanced out across the Boston skyline, looking down at the miniature pedestrians bustling through the bust streets. He just stared for a moment, taking in the ever-changing city landscape beneath him: surrounded by super-high energy gamers and a 3 year old son, there was never really any moment for any peace in quiet. But here, miles away from home, he decided to lavish in this quiet serenity for a brief moment. 

...

Pam delicately picked up a piece of salmon sushi between her chopsticks, and looked up to ask David, "So...we never really get much of an opportunity to talk alone between all the gaming and editing and costume changes. How's the family?"

"It's great, I mean, now I get to spend a lot more time working at home, so I get to spend more time with my son, which is just great. I'm still feeling a little nervous from, y'know, leaving Smosh and going out on a limb like you, but I've got a sweet new channel and amazing new teammates such as yourself," he smiled back at her, "and I know that everything's gonna be okay." 

Pam leaned over and nudged Ian in the shoulder, "Don't you miss having your boo around the office? I've poached him from you and now he's...all...mine..."

Ian lightly laughed, "Indeed. The office is a lot more empty without you. At least we still get to see each other outside of work, since you are always around the most beautiful woman on this planet." He draped his arm around Pam and pulled her close whilst she was trying to grasp yet another piece of sushi, "I'm glad that we still get to do things like this."

David picked at the edamame he had deshelled while they were coddling, "Yeah, me too."

...

"Hey Pam, mind if I talk to David for a bit? It's about something personal," Ian said as they exited the elevator on the floor. 

"Ooo, how juicy is it? Can I listen in?", Pam chortled with a wide grin across her face, jokingly poking Ian on the sides. 

"Ahhhaahha! I'm ticklish! Stop that!" Ian squirmed around before proceeding to retaliate, "Ha! Gotcha! The Poke Monster is here!" as he and Pam went around David, attempting to dodge each other, while David just stood there, quietly smiling at their childish antics. 

After a couple of minutes of this, Ian paused, "But seriously. I think it's something we need to discuss just by ourselves." 

Pam made a mock pouty face, "Fine. But call me once you're done, and don't come home too late." 

Ian replied sarcastically, while rolling his eyes, "Fine, mom. Geez." 

...

"Wow, you literally got nothing unpacked, did you?" Ian noted as David opened the door to his room. 

"Yeah...", David reached back with his right arms to scratch his head. "I instead decided to look outside and see the beautiful scenery." He glanced outside to look at the night-time skyscape, which had now faded into a soft shade of indigo. He sat down on the bed, and gestured next to him for Ian to do the same. "So..what do you have to talk about?" 

Ian plopped down, and said, "I was hoping we could talk about where we left off in the middle of my wedding." A heavy silence lingered between the two men for a while, which Ian finally broke, "I know we haven't been able to meet up like this since then, but this is something that's been lingering in the back of my mind, unable to be completely shaken off." Ian sighed and looked down at his lap. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

David looked down as well, and mumbled, "I guess...we've spent so long cultivating that Smosh bromance. Yes, I knew that it was all for camera, and that you and I were both kidding, but...over time, it just got harder to distinguish that virtual reality. All the awkward poses we have, the flirtatious gestures we do, the looks of jealously that I have, it's just...once you start faking it for long enough, it start to feel that much more real." David breathed in deeply. "And when you told me that you at some point had feelings for me, it made me realise that I might feel the same way about you too." Gesturing with his hands, he said, "I just want to be totally clear. I am not gay, or bi, or...I'm not sure what other terms there are. I do not believe you to be gay either - I know that much from the brunch incident. There's just this feeling that I have when I am around you, and I don't think it's love, but...the excitement and yearning and desire that I have around you is just completely indescribable." 

Ian took David's hand in his own, "Yeah. I don't know what I feel around you yet either: I don't have the words to describe that. But...I am glad to have you around, man." He looked David in the eyes, "You know just as well as I do that nothing's ever going to happen between the two of us. You're married, I'm married, we just have families that we can't afford to break apart right now. I will admit, your own admission threw me for quite a loop there, and I was quite thrown off - the most bizarre type of revelation to hear on your wedding night." Ian stared up in the ceiling, staring at the spot just next to the blurry yellow light, "Maybe if circumstances were different, perhaps...those terribly uncomfortable duet dances, all the times we practically humped each other to be posted on Youtube, and that once when Anthony stole you to be on his team for the Games..." Ian chuckled at the thought of that incident, "...we've formed a really close bond with each other. And maybe in another world, another time, that could have been something." 

At the point, he stood up, and stretched his arms toward the ceiling. "So let's just try to forget about this, and pretend this whole beautiful revelation never happened. We should just try to be normal friends and move on with our lives." He turned back to face David, "I don't normally say this, but...do you want to get a drink? I'm not sure what else can take my mind off things right now." 

David pushed himself up against the bed, "Yeah. That's a good idea. I could use a martini. Or three," he quietly snickered. "Man...I have not had any alcohol since Andrew's really been around: just not a good role model. Then again...what kind of role model am I?" He laughed for the first time since the somber mood set over time. 

"I'm sure you're a great dad. C'mon, let's go."

...

David clumsily pushed open the door, with one hand wrapped behind Ian's head, all while noisily kissing him. Both of Ian's hands were around David's waist, pulling them as close to each other as possible, their bodies pressed against each other. Immediately after entering, Ian spun David around and his body against the bed and climbed on top of him, quickly resuming their fervent kissing in a messy attempt to explore each other, tracing their fingers down each other's body. They tossed and turned, knocking off the sheets and pillows as they hungrily wrestled for each other. After a while, they peeled off the T-shirts of each other's sweaty bodies, feeling the faint pulse of each other's warm flesh as they reached for their pants...


	8. Regret

David woke up groggily as the sun glared into his eyes, loud pounding ringing throughout his head as an aftermath of last night's drinking, and his vision was completely blurred at the edges, only able to make out vague shapes and colours. He rubbed his eyes open as he fought to try and recall what happened last night, with everything chopped up and broken...they went to the bar...got shots...and then some more...and...went back to his room? He felt the rough, dusty carpeting against his bare skin as he lay upon it. 

Bare skin? Why...and that was when it hit him: he was completely buck naked and sprawled across the floor. He glanced up, and saw Ian, just as nude as he was, sprawled across the bed. Alarmed, David frantically began scouring for his clothes, which had flung across the room and onto the floor, even at one point prying his boxers from the bundle of clothes that Ian was grasping on to, and hurriedly began wriggling back into them. 

"Oh...that's way too loud, dear...can you change quietly," Ian's whining turned in shock and surprise as soon as he realised where he was. "What the heck? What on earth..." Ian swivelled his head around the room in fear as he pulled the sheets over his body, the look of embarrassment and shame on David's face as he tugged up the zipper on his jeans the same as his own. "I don't...my memory of last night is so foggy...I can't...we should not have had that many drinks." Ian shuffled around nervously on the bed. "Urm...could you please go to the bathroom please? I...really don't want you to see, y'know, any more I mean..."

"Oh yeah, totally. I'm just..." David tried to force the words out of his mouth, but nothing came out: instead, he withdrew into the bathroom and locked the door. He slipped his T-shirt over his head and stared at his weary, hungover his face in the mirror, a dark shade gathering under his eyes. Evidently he didn't get much sleep last night. He splashed cold water across his face, and flashes of events started to appear before him. The drinks...the kiss...the bed. His mouth opened in a small 'o' in the realisation of what he had just done: that which was so abhorrent, so vile, and just so...wrong. Ian was his former boss and his current colleague's wife; this couldn't possibly be happening. It must have all been a hallucination. 

"I'm done", Ian called out from outside. David tentatively eased the door open, slightly afraid of facing him. "Wow," Ian walked over, shaking his head, "I have not gotten black-out drunk in forever. We really should have stopped after that second round of shots." Suddenly, he almost tripped over the flat carpet, and snatched out to the bathroom door to hold himself upright. "Geez...I can barely walk straight. Man...we really hit ourselves up last night." He chuckled, "Man, Pam must be so worried; I don't recall myself calling her at all." 

David stared at him unmovingly. Ian waved his hand in front of his friend's face, "Hello? Yoohoo? You must be really out of it." 

"Ian, I think we...did it with each other last night, to put it bluntly." David suddenly blurted out. "I think when we got drunk, we became really uninhibited, and that had just been on our minds, and...I keep having brief flashes of...us, on the bed, together, and..." 

"Stop, stop, stop." Ian held up his hands. "No way, there's no way something like that...," his expression morphed as a look of revelation appeared on his face." He cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to keep his next thoughts from coming out. After a long pause, he relented, "I'm...starting to remember now. I remember us both coming into this room, and going on the bed...", he clutched his head as if he could prevent the images of last night from flooding back to him. "No no no no no, this cannot be happening. I just got married for god's sakes, I can't have already..." Ian paced around the floor, muttering to himself. "This is not right, this can't be..." 

David took in a deep breath, and resignedly said, "Neither can I. I mean, how on earth did that happen? We agreed to put it behind us and...". His tone suddenly turned darker, more menacing. "It was you. You brought both of us down to that bar, got me completely hammered, and then did..this to me! Coward, taking advantage of someone who is drunk to fulfil your twisted fantasies, you sick man." David advanced towards Ian, glaring him down. 

"Excuse me?" Ian retorted with an expression of disgust. "How dare you accuse me of such terrible things: we have been friends for so long and this is what you think of me? I would never take advantage of any of my drunk friends like that, no matter what private thoughts I had." Ian stood on his tip-toes, leaning in to slightly hover over David. "Can't you trust me not to do that?" 

David pushed him away, sending him stumbling. "No, I can't. Because we got drunk and had sex with each other, goddammit! We've all long suspected that you had something fishy going on with Anthony, and when he finally left, you decided to settle down and get married. But no, you couldn't stop your desire to get with a man, so you took the chance to do it with me." He deeply sighed as if to say, "Oh boy." "Dude, I'm fine with you being gay; what I'm not fine is trying to do it with me right after getting me drunk, that is quite literally rape." 

Ian went up to David's face, "How dare you say something like that. I thought we were good friends, especially after that restaurant incident. I thought...that you believed me." He raised his voice and began shouting, "I never dared to do anything with Anthony - we were just friends - and I married Pam because I truly love her, and not of this pointless crock of lies that you have conjured. I'm married, and I wouldn't jeopardize my marriage on a whim, unlike you, apparently." 

David stared back at him in horror, "I'm married, and I have a child. Unlike you, I don't plan on ripping my family apart. Now why don't you get your smug face and your over-blown temper out of my room and back to you beard? Just stay away from me for the rest of the trip, got it?" 

Suddenly, there was a rapt knock on the door causing both men to instantly jump back. A muffled Pam called through the door, "Hey L-Corn, is Ian in there? He never returned to the room after he left to yours last night, and I'm assuming he's still here." 

David furiously whispered towards Ian, "Let's save this argument for later - I am not having Pam find out about what transpired between us. Got it?" 

Ian angrily whispered back, "Fine. Just stop talking." 

David went up and opened the door, "Hi Pam! Yeah, after our little chat, we decided to go down to the bar," he said, an underlying fake cheer in his voice, mixed with a little sheepiness. "Unfortunately, we both got a little tipsy, and were barely able to lug ourselves back here before crashing. Apologies for not returning him back to you." 

"Oh no worries, that's perfectly fine. You do both look extremely hungover though: I have never known Ian to get that drunk in all the time I've known him. Anyway, the convention floor is now open, and I'll be heading down there now - come join me whenever you guys have rested enough." She smiled, and turned to head down the hallway. 

David shut the door. "Good, she has no clue. Well, at least that's your marriage preserved. Let's just not talk for the rest of this trip, got it?" 

Ian rolled his eyes, "I'm down with that. You just keep your end of the bargain, you piece of trash. Now let me go back to my room to rest; I need to sleep off this stupid hangover." With that, he flung open the door again, and stomped away in frustration. 

...

"Honey, you're home!" Brina greeted David with open arms as he trailed his luggage up the front steps. "How was the trip?" 

"It was...fine. Nothing really exciting, same old, same old." David spoke to his feet as he began to take off his shoes. "We just went there for work, to promote the channel and that's all." 

"Are you okay? You sound a little bit down. Tell me, what's going on with you?" Brina leaned in next to her husband. "You're usually much more excited after you get to meet your fellow gamers." 

"It's just...Ian and I kind of had a major fallout. It was...a big one, and I'm not sure that we could repair our relationship after that; that was a really big blow." 

"Now don't say that, I'm sure that whatever it is, both of you'll get over it in time. You guys aren't just ordinary friends, and whatever it is, you'll find a way to solve it. Besides, someone is very excited to see his daddy after all these days."

"Daddy!", Andrew exclaimed as he ran into the room, who David immediately scooped up and hoisted on top of his arms. 

"Did you miss me, Andrew? Did you?" "Yes, very much." 

...

Ian was just at one of the common tables finalising another sketch when he felt a shadow loom over him. He plucked out his headphones and looked up to find David imposing over him. "What do you want?" Ian said, a hint of condescension underlying his voice. 

"Hostile, aren't you?", David said smugly. "Just thought I should tell you that we're moving away from LA tomorrow. I got a job working for the digital department at Wizards of the Coast, which works perfectly with Brina's new job on the East Coast. I'm leaving Toaster Ghost, and I've already told Pam. Guess this is the last time we'll see each other, in at least a while."

Ian stood up to match him, "Tomorrow? You wait till the day before to tell me something this major in your life? What kind of crappy friend are you?" 

David snorted, "What friends? Friends don't spend three months without talking to each other - if you ever bothered to interact with me, I'm sure you would have found out earlier." 

Ian responded, "You know why we haven't been talking. That incident changed everything." 

"Right. I know. That's what I'm leaving this place. Goodbye." David turned around and walked out through the door.


	9. Paradise

2022: 

David and Ian watched as the sunset shirked away from the horizon, shirking away the last glimmers of light as a deep shadow set over the beach, the yellow, flickering light from the adjacent streetlamps casting their long silhouettes out in front of them. The other beach goers had since long gone, the footprints cleared away by the cool evening sea breeze, which rifled through both their hair and T-shirts as they sat next to each other on the sand, contemplating in silence as they stared out towards the ebb and flow of the ways. 

Finally, Ian broke the silence, "I'm glad we could get together to do this. With you living on the other side of the country now, and with both us getting really into work and having families - man, kids are wonderful, but boy can they be annoying sometimes - we no longer really have the time to get together and just do absolutely nothing. Especially this place..." He scanned around the shoreline, as if to check that no one was there, "This had always been our special location, where'd we go chill after an especially long week of work. At least this hasn't changed over the past few years." He let a faint smile cross his face. 

David smiled back, "I'm glad that we managed to resolve our differences. That incident in the hotel room almost tore us apart forever, it created such a deep rift between us that I didn't think we'd manage to crawl back. But we did: I guess the saying does have a truth to it, that time really does heal all wounds. And I'm very glad that it did, that we were able to reconnect after all these years." David lay back onto the sand, allowing himself to ease into the fluid grains. "I'm surprised you use the ancient device as your phone: it's so outdated at this point it's practically a rock." 

Ian lay down next to David and inched in closer until their arms were touching, "Some things are better just the way they are, that their numerous flaws and failures are what makes them perfect. Kind of like you: even after all these years, you're still the immature goofball that I met over a decade ago...and you're still playing video games. Seriously. You're almost 40, and you still play video games?" Ian flung up a gush of sand scrambling away as David attempted to elbow him, "What? I didn't say anything that wasn't true! Not that I'm really one to talk, continuing to make ridiculous comedy videos, but...you were always the practical one in our friendship, nagging constantly about bills and taxes and responsibility and all kinds of pointless jibber-jabber." 

David sat up incredulously, "Excuse me? I am not that annoying. Besides, you're the one practically running a squadron of people: you've got to have at least some sense of responsibility to do that." He plopped back down, scattering the grains everywhere, "I really hope Andrew finds a friend as good as the one I found in you someday, one that even after...that-incident-that-we-bury-in-memory-so-that-we-never-speak-of-it-again, that will stand by him through thick and thin." 

...

Pam cradled her infant in her arms, softly cooing at her. "Like clockwork, every Saturday night huh? Man...it's really taking a toll on him." 

Brina held onto Andrew with her right hand, also glancing out to the beach, "I knew they were close, I just never knew that this could have such a profound effect on David...he wasn't even there when it took place. Even the doctors can't make heads-or-tails of it." 

Pam gently rocked her infant from side to side, "Do you remember when it started? I think it was quite a while after the incident." 

Brina mulled over it for a moment, and then solemnly replied, "It was a month after he first heard about the news. At first, he seemed to take it well, but over time, he started talking about Ian randomly, and then one day he just upped himself and flew over here. The trips became more frequent, and then at some point his absence forced me to uproot and move myself back here. He seems distant, far-away, and I just..." Tears began to roll down her cheeks, causing Andrew to hug her legs, "I just...I don't know what to do! My amazing, beautiful, incredible husband has been reduced to a yammering pile of nonsense, and there's nothing I can do about it! Nothing!" 

...

After they had drunken intercourse and David left for the East Coast, Ian and David ceased all interaction with each other, and David had additionally decided to severe all communication with all former Smosh and ToasterGhost members: he didn't want any connection to Ian at all. After David had left, his Smosh crew reported that Ian had became more angry, more irritable, that he kept snapping off at even the smallest of details. Videos became more difficult to film because Ian was never in a good mood, often secluding himself in the corners of the office, shunning away any attempt to get him socialising. His friends gradually stopped socialising with him after all he would do is vent out his anger. 

And then Ian and Pam had a child, a baby girl. Pam thought that Ian would be incredibly happy about it - after all, he was the one who always mentioned how great it would be to start a family - but he was furious, distraught. If David's departure sent him into a fury, then this revelation spent him into a tailspin: he spent more and more time doing 'work', refusing to spend any time with his newborn child, leaving Pam to take care of her all by herself. Eventually, as the berth between them grew apart, Ian started to have affairs with other men behind her back, using late night work as a flimsy excuse for his deceit. Eventually, she found out, and after one of their longest fights, he decided to storm off, driving away from here. He got terribly intoxicated in a nearby bar, and after wildly ricocheting across the roads, drove past a red light and crashed into another driver. He was dead before the EMTs arrived. 

David didn't hear about it until three months later, when he saw a random article floating around the Internet about the death of one of Smosh's founders. He never got to attend the funeral, never managed to see his friend for the last time. 

... 

David woke up begrudgingly as he hauled himself up in order to answer the door. Who on earth would even be waking up so late at night? And how did Brina nor Tyler seem at all disturbed by this incessant ruckus? Whatever. He flung open the door to see a frantic Ian relieved to see him. 

"David, we need to take your car right now and drive to the beach. Now. There's something I desperately need to show you," he said, breathing heavily.

"Seriously man? At two a.m. in the morning? We just went there earlier this evening - What could possibly be so important that we need to go now? Besides, how did you even get here?" 

"I ran the whole way, David: that's how serious I am. I waited till now to go because I am certain that no one is there. Please, David, we have to do this." 

"Oh wow, that...we'll go, we'll go." David quickly snatched his car keys hanging by the hooks next to the door, and slung his jacket over his shoulder. "At least I didn't go to sleep in my boxers tonight, man..." 

"David, hurry!" Ian beckoned David outside frantically with both his hands. "We musn't waste any time." 

...

"Ian, I still don't understand why you brought me here: it's essentially pitch-black out here so I can barely see a thing, and the sea breeze is quite cold now that it's been hours after the sun just set. Could you just tell me what's happening?" David called out in front of himself, unsure of the faint silhouette of his friend hovering somewhere in front of him. 

 

"David, we need to go into the water: I know you might be worried, but this is how we get there." Ian's voice replied him from somewhere beyond. 

"What?" David instantly backed away from the water. "Are you bananas? We are not all equipped to go swimming - at all! Besides, the water is absolutely freezing; there is no way I'm going in there." 

A strong, warm hand enclosed around David's right arm, and Ian's voice was carried away by the wind: "Don't worry man, I've got you. I know what I am doing, so there's absolutely no need to fear." David felt himself being gently tugged forward, and reluctantly also inched forward until he felt the wetness of the water slip between his toes. A step at a time, the water welled up to his shins, then to his knees, then to his waist, and he felt a strong undertow begin to pull at him. 

"Ian...? The current is really strong: I don't think that we should keep pressing on - we can't see anything, and it'd be extremely dangerous to keep going," David's voice crept up higher as fear began to set in. "I'm really scared man, I can't...I can't keep going." 

"David, do you trust me?" That single statement flew past David despite their close proximity. He thought about the time Ian came over to his house to take care of him, the time when he jumped into this exact stretch of sea to rescue his drowning friend, and the last-minute impromptu gig to become a best man. Ian was one of his best friends, and despite all the conflicts they've had, there was no doubt in his mind that he did trust him. 

"Yes. I do." 

"Then follow me and don't resist anything, don't fight it. Just let the waves wash you away." As he walked further down the waves, the tide swelled up, and begin to reach his neckline. "Ian, please, come, save me! I can't, I don't..." 

"David, trust me." His voice echoed across the waves. "Trust me..." And David did, even as he kept walking into the unseen depths, closing his eyes as the water covered the top of his head, the strong riptide sweeping his feet from underneath him...

...and he opened his eyes to be surrounded by white light everywhere he looked. "Wow, where...how...this isn't even possible, I don't know..." 

"This is what is known as paradise." Ian stepped out from nowhere to face David. "I found it quite a while ago, and since then, I've just wanted to share it with someone like you. C'mon, let's go explore this place." 

Ian took David's hand in his own, and linked together, stepped forward into the light.


End file.
